Clinical Research Directory

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is the most effective, and first-line psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults. ERP is guided by a trained therapist and helps individuals extinguish fears and reduce or eliminate compulsive behaviors in a structured and supportive environment. ERP treatment begins by the therapist providing the patient with psychoeducation and then developing an exposure hierarchy or exposure list for the individual's OCD symptoms. The individual with OCD is then exposed to stimuli that elicit distress (exposure) and then prevented from engaging in compulsive, ritualistic, or avoidance behavior (response prevention). The exact ERP session varies depending on the individual's OCD symptoms and their readiness to engage in compulsions. The therapist and patient then collaboratively develop practice or homework assignments to complete between sessions.

Virtual reality exposure therapy is a modality of exposure therapy that immerses individuals in computer-generated scenarios to gradually face their fears while wearing headsets that place them in the immersive environments. Artificial intelligence-powered virtual reality exposure therapy (AI-VRET), adds on to virtual reality exposure therapy by enabling the therapist to modify the virtual reality environment by use of artificial intelligence in real-time.